Freedom of Religion in Vietnam - Societal Abuses and Discrimination

Societal Abuses and Discrimination

See also: Societal abuses and Religious discrimination

There were no known instances of societal discrimination or violence based on religion during the period covered by this report. In Ho Chi Minh City and Huế, there were some ecumenical dialogues among leaders of disparate religious communities. Catholics, Buddhists, Hoa Hao, and Cao Dai sometimes cooperate on social and charitable projects.

On November 19, 2006, the Catholic Archdiocese of Hanoi and the ECVN held an historic ecumenical service at Cua Bac Church in Hanoi on the occasion of the visit of President Bush. New cooperative efforts between the two groups resulted from this effort.

The growth of Protestantism in the Central Highlands is complicated by the presence of "Dega" separatists, who advocate an autonomous or independent homeland for the indigenous persons who live in the area, particularly in Gia Lai, Dak Nong, and Dak Lak provinces. These separatists are reported to have links to political advocacy groups residing in the United States. The relationship between the Dega movement and Protestant believers belonging to the SECV is tense in some parts of the Central Highlands. Dega activists reportedly have threatened that SECV pastors would not be allowed to serve in a "Dega State" unless they abandon the SECV. Other Protestant pastors have accused the Dega movement of manipulating religion for political purposes.

In a widely publicized case during the reporting period, vandals, who turned out to be local Party officials and policemen, destroyed a Pietà statue in Dong Dinh Parish, Nho Quan District, in Ninh Binh Province. This was largely related to a local political dispute. Provincial authorities responded quickly to the vandalism, and 10 local Party officials were arrested, relieved of duty, and ordered to pay restitution to the Catholic Phat Diem Diocese. The local Bishop refused the financial restitution, but the statue was later restored in May 2007 with donations from local Catholics. Such anti-Catholic incidents were relatively rare.